383 One Who is Cut Off from Others
As if he had exhausted his last bit of energy in front of the Hall of Calming Purity that day, Mingde Emperor was once again sick in bed, and this time, it seemed even more serious than before. Hua Jin, having recovered from her serious illness, returned to visit the emperor. She examined the burnt black colour on the tip of the needle and slowly shook her head.
Mu Chunfeng looked at the silver needle, and his expression also tensed up. "Why is it like this?"
Hua Jin looked at Mingde Emperor. "Your Majesty, physical illnesses are easy to treat, but an ailment of the heart is difficult to cure. Did something distressing happen in the past few days?"
Li Changqing stood to one side, sighing helplessly, thinking to himself that this genius doctor really didn’t pay attention to matters outside her window. Such a huge incident happened in Heavenly Revelations City and she was probably the only one who would ask Mingde Emperor if something distressing happened recently.
"It's nothing distressing, really. We have just been thinking of some people, some matters, and was feeling some regrets," Mingde Emperor said softly.
"Is it the matter that Your Majesty talked about last time?" Hua Jin asked as she put away the silver needle.
"Yes." Mingde Emperor coughed slightly.
"Genius doctor, it’s more urgent to treat the illness, so don’t mention these matters again," Li Changqing interjected hurriedly.
Mu Chunfeng asked casually, "Why is Grand Eunuch Jin Xuan not here today?"
"After the Five Grand Eunuchs got involved in such a major incident, Grand Eunuch Jin Xuan has been busy dealing with it the past few days, so he has not come here today," Li Changqing said.
Mu Chunfeng responded with a faint "oh". Xiao Se asked him to pay special attention to Grand Eunuch Jin Xuan’s reactions today, but the man wasn’t even here. There was definitely something strange about it.
"Your Majesty, Langya Prince has arrived," a servant walked in to report.
"The rest of you can go. Let Lingchen enter," Mingde Emperor said softly.
"Your Majesty’s illness is so serious. Please let the little genius doctor Hua Jin accompany you," Li Changqing advised.
"No need. All of you can go." Mingde Emperor waved his sleeves. "I will talk with Lingchen alone."
Li Changqing knew that persuading him further would be in vain, so he withdrew from the room together with Hua Jin and Mu Chunfeng.
Xiao Lingchen was dressed in white and waving a folding fan as he walked past Mu Chunfeng. The two of them had once met out at sea and immediately recognised each other.
"Hey, isn't this the young master of Qingzhou’s Mu family? Why did you become a doctor?" Xiao Lingchen smiled.
Mu Chunfeng smacked away the folding fan that Xiao Lingchen had just opened. "Isn't this the king of a thousand miles of territorial waters? Why did you come ashore?"
"To take a breath of the air on the continent, ah." Xiao Lingchen brushed past Mu Chunfeng and bowed respectfully in greeting. "My respects to Your Majesty."
"You’re here." Mingde Emperor struggled to sit up halfway and beckoned to bring him closer.
Thus, Xiao Lingchen walked a few steps forward, but maintained a certain distance.
Mingde Emperor sighed, and after a moment of silence, he said, "This matter was settled thanks to you."
"I was merely upholding my Marshal Father's will. If Lingchen really rebelled to usurp the throne, when I see my Marshal Father again down below, he will definitely pick up his riding crop and whip me to death." Xiao Lingchen shook his head, his words sounding frivolous yet spoken with all sincerity. "What's more, considering my personality, I can't really be an emperor."
"What kind of personality is suitable to be an emperor?" Mingde Emperor sounded like he was asking Xiao Lingchen, but also like he was asking himself.
"For example, like Your Majesty who is more sombre in thought with a more stable personality, and able to take into consideration all aspects. My Marshal Father's personality was too unrestrained. He could pull off becoming a general, but being an emperor would have been too exhausting. So, back then, he gave it up. I’m the same as him. Even though the emperor is the most powerful person under Heaven, he also has the most restraints. Those damn eunuchs tried to pressure my father and me with the throne but they underestimated us." Xiao Lingchen's words could be considered rebellious, but now it was just the two of them. And obviously, Mingde Emperor didn’t mind his words.
Mingde Emperor sighed. "Back then, my brother and I thought that, with one of us being the ruler and the other the general, the fate of the entire Beili would be in our hands and the nation would prosper. But, neither of us expected that we would be used by others for their own gains. What happened to your father was something I blame myself for all these years."
"You really should blame yourself," Xiao Lingchen said suddenly.
Mingde Emperor was taken aback and he nodded. "Go on."
"Back then, my Marshal Father did indeed condemn himself and was willing to give up his life according to the law and discipline of the imperial court. But why, Your Majesty, why did you remain silent about this from beginning to end? I understand this was a tacit agreement between monarch and subject. You understood his plan and he also knew your intentions. But, there could have been an alternative plan at the time." Xiao Lingchen looked at Mingde Emperor, his eyes filled with accusation. "You could have dug out the officials who were trying to create trouble and executed them one by one. Together with my Marshal Father, you could have told all under Heaven resolutely that yes, the name on the Dragon-Sealed Scrolls was Xiao Ruofeng. But so what? The emperor would still be Xiao Ruojin, and Langya Prince would still be Xiao Ruofeng. That was your choice. No one could change that. The Dragon-Sealed Scrolls could not, all the people under Heaven could not. Why didn’t you do that?"
Mingde Emperor was silent for a long time without answering.
Xiao Lingchen continued on his own, "Because that would have been too risky. That would have caused your position on the throne to be unstable and could have seriously affected the stability of Heavenly Revelations City. Those Princes who didn't succeed in vying for the throne could have brought their armies into Heavenly Revelations. Any of the court officials dissatisfied with you would also have used that against you. Your Majesty, did Lingchen say anything wrong?"
"No." Mingde Emperor nodded. "You’re absolutely right. So, all these years, we have felt very guilty. We can lie to ourselves that this was Ruofeng's own decision, and we can also tell ourselves that one day, we will redress the injustice to Ruofeng and enshrine his memorial tablet in the Ancestral Temple. But, until the moment you stepped into the Hall of Calming Purity, we did none of those things."
"My Marshal Father always remembered the promise he made with Your Majesty in your youth. But, Your Majesty has forgotten." Xiao Lingchen turned around. "I don't understand what Your Majesty summoned Lingchen here to tell me, but these are words that Lingchen had to say. And what Lingchen wanted to hear are not words of regret."
Mingde Emperor fell silent again.
"If Your Majesty has nothing else to say, then Lingchen will take his leave first. I understand my Marshal Father’s plan but that doesn’t mean I can forgive what happened. I lost the person closest to me. Regardless of the reason, I will never forgive. Whether it’s all under Heaven or the country, this throne is not worth that much." Xiao Lingchen's tone was becoming increasingly frosty. "I came here today not to reminisce about the past, nor to claim credit. These are just words that I needed to get out, yet I can’t tell them to anyone else. I can only tell them to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me."
"We understand. We have one more thing to ask you. This time, how should we choose?" Mingde Emperor asked slowly.
"It's very simple. Which prince do you hate the most? Leave the seat to him." Xiao Lingchen said indifferently, "Your Majesty's position is destined to be one who is cut off from all others and you will never live happily."
*
Note about Langya Prince Xiao Ruofeng:
The conspiracy behind what happened to Langya Prince five years ago is the backbone to a huge plotline in this novel and this chapter brings the whole plot to an end. Here’s a timeline and brief recap for those who have gotten confused along the way.
Mingde Year 1-15
Tai’an Emperor passed away, leaving behind the Dragon-Sealed Scrolls with the name of the heir. There were eight Princes vying for the throne at the time. Langya Prince and his brother amassed an army and fought their way to the Hall of Calming Purity. Then, Xiao Ruofeng snatched the Dragon-Sealed Scroll out of Zhuo Qing Gonggong’s hands, saw his own name on it, destroyed the evidence and proclaimed his brother as emperor. The other copy of the scroll went missing.
As the years passed, Xiao Ruofeng rose in power to become the highest ranking general in the army and he commanded the Langya Army on numerous expeditions against enemy nations, mostly Nanjue. His victorious campaigns increased his popularity among the people and the old eunuchs decided to make use of this opportunity to usurp the throne. Zhuo Qing Gonggong probably had the missing scroll by then, but he didn’t tell anyone where it was.
Mingde Year 16
Xiao Ruofeng and the emperor became aware of the conspiracy. He disabled the Langya Army by putting Ye Xiaoying under house arrest. Then, using his own soldiers from the Langya Army, he orchestrated the riots in Heavenly Revelations City and attempted to escape from the city with his son. But, he was stopped at the west gate by Baihu Guardian, Ji Ruofeng. Xiao Ruofeng was arrested, incarcerated, convicted of treason and sentenced to death, all within a much shorter than usual time. The only person who dared to speak up for him was Xiao Chuhe. Xiao Chuhe’s actions caused the emperor to denounce him in anger, strip him of his titles, and exile him to Qingzhou.
Meanwhile, Xiao Lingchen managed to escape, met up with the three heavenly generals and somehow, ended up in Qingzhou and became a pirate with a crew of mostly soldiers from the old Langya Army.
On the day of Xiao Ruofeng’s execution, Li Xinyue attempted to rescue him. By this time, Lei Mengsha was already dead, Lei Wujie was living in Lei Clan Fort and Li Hanyi was living in Snow Moon City. Li Hanyi came to support her mother, but Li Xinyue was grievously injured. Xiao Ruofeng commited suicide and Li Hanyi escaped with her mother.
Sometime after this, Xiao Chuhe was banished from the capital but on the road leaving the city, he was ambushed by first, Yan Zhantian who crippled him, then Zhuo Qing Gonggong who disabled his martial arts. Ji Ruofeng intercepted Yan Zhantian to rescue Xiao Chuhe, but in the ensuing confrontation with Zhuo Qing, Ji Ruofeng was seriously injured as well. Xiao Chuhe was 17 years old at the time and he had just entered the Unfettered Heavenly Realm. Not long after this incident, Mingde Emperor had Zhuo Qing killed in the Imperial Mausoleum.
Mingde Year 20
Lei Wujie met Xiao Se in Fallen Snow Villa.
Mingde Year 21
Xiao Se reunited with Xiao Lingchen at sea. Xiao Se said it had been five years since they last saw each other.
Mingde Year 22
Xiao Se returned to Heavenly Revelations and discovered the truth of what happened to his uncle. Meanwhile, Jin Yan got his hands on the missing scroll and Xiao Se sent Ji Xue to intercept Xiao Lingchen before Ye Xiaoying got to him. Xiao Lingchen brought the Langya Army to Heavenly Revelations.